Secretary Mnuchin: Chinese vice premier will visit U.S. for trade talks at end of month

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 8:30 AM PT — Friday, January 11, 2019

Preparations are underway for another round of high-level trade talks between the U.S. and China. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer are expected to meet with the Chinese vice premier in Washington, D.C. later this month.

The last time the Chinese premier was in the U.S. for trade talks an agreement was reached, but the plan was later scrapped by President Trump in May 2018. Experts believe his return to Washington could be a sign both countries are closing in on a deal as the clock continues to run on a 90-day tariff truce.

Chinese Vice Premier Liu He attends the opening ceremony of the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai, 2018. (Photo/Reuters)

At this point, Mnuchin is confident the visit will take place as planned despite government delays caused by the shutdown.

“The current intent is that the Vice Premier Liu, he will most likely come and visit us later in the month and I would expect the government shutdown would have no impact,” he stated. “We will continue with those meetings just as we sent a delegation to China.”

The U.S. delegation to China wrapped up its talks in Beijing this week. President Trump praised the progress made so far, but warned he will implement new tariffs on China in March if the country doesn’t make concessions on trade.